I’m very much a new school gamer, with a weekly 4e game still going great guns. That said, my RPG roots are in the late 70s/early 80s and I have an enormous affection for those days. Every now and again I have a bit of a wallow in my old books and magazines, just to get all misty eyed about the old days.

Yesterday was a case in point. It was the funeral of an old friend of mine, so I guess that must have kickstarted the ‘looking back’ mood to an extent. It’s also very wintery here at the moment, there’s snow on the ground and Christmas just around the corner. Overall, a killer combination.

So, with the family at the playschool for an hour I nestled up with my original copy of ‘Moldvay’ Basic D&D from the red box. Just the illustrations are incredibly evocative of being 11 years old again. To complete the mood I dug out a record that, for me, brings back the early eighties par excellence: Pelican West by Haircut 100. Yeah, I know, it’s hardly the coolest choiuce but that doesn’t matter. When I was learning my gaming chops I spent many, many hours sitting on the floor of my bedroom drawing dungeons in my maths exercise books. The soundtrack to those years was limited by my tape collection of about 3 albums. I truly loved that Haircut 100 album, even though it’s very much the black sheep of my tastes then and now. Suffice to say, 30 secounds of Favourite Shirts and I’m back painting that rust monster all over again.

For me, thinking back over gaming experiences is a vital part of the hobby. Mostly that concerns last weeks game but occasionally it can be about old campaigns or gaming groups from decades past. In fact, isn’t that what gaming is all about, the making of memories? I think it is, and so for me nostalgia will always be a joyful thing.

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2 responses to “Does anyone remember nostalgia?”

I was a few years older than you, and listening to Rush and Led Zeppelin, but the otherwise I also have fond memories of that time. My condolences on the loss of your friend. Unfortunately, I’ve been there too, but I have great gaming memories of the time we had together.